1962 Volkswagen Bus - Riding with the King of Chop

Ken Prather, the creator of this stunning '62 VW drag-style bus had avision.

"I always wanted to build a mid-engine hot rod," he says. "The firstthing I did was chop the top, then I pulled the motor. And you know howit escalates once you start on something." Originally a hippy van with awooden bunk and table, this powerful machine now sports a mid-engineblown 355 small-block, 310 louvers, and an outrageous 7-inch chop.

Ken's build evokes the stark feel of a vintage Gasser with customizeddrag seats, a Sprint Car steering wheel, and a handbuilt dash sportinggiant Auto Meter gauges and some toggle switches. Zeus fasteners makethe entire piece removable for easy access to the brake master cylindermounted below. The precisely hung suicide doors lift by the chromemirrors instead of the door handles, and Ken has to slide head-firstpast the steel rollcage into the aluminum seats. Other tastefulperformance modifications include a fuel cell, a drag parachute, and athrottle pedal made out of a spoon from the kitchen of his understandingwife, Georgia.

Hooking up the blown Chevy to the rest of the driveline, thehead-snapping, full-manual 350 automatic attaches directly from its yoketo the differential. The Ford rear was narrowed a whopping 14 inches tofit inside the custom frame, which is like a giant swing arm from theengine back, and it accommodates monstrous 10-inch wide Americanfive-spoke wheels out back. When Ken piloted the beast 4,000 miles fromhis home in Waterford, Pennsylvania, to the Bonneville Salt Flats lastAugust, he coaxed 8-10 mpg out of the two Holley four-barrels.

Several external body panels are attached with more Zeus fasteners toallow access to the drivetrain and make it possible to change both frontand rear tires out on the road. Ken grafted a Dodge truck radiator withtwo 16-inch fans to keep the motor cool. Applying hot-rodderresourcefulness, he also created a 5-gallon spray system that wets downthe radiator using the same principles of an old leather canteenstrapped to the front of a Model A going across the desert.

Some of speed culture's finest have added their seals of approval byautographing the dash, including Bonneville legend Bob Pierson. "Oh yes,I like the chop!" Pierson told Ken after a joyride at the Salt Flats."This bus is an absolutely marvelous piece. The beauty of the movementtoday is that they are building things we wouldn't even haveconsidered." Don Garlits added his signature after checking out the VWat a car show. He took one look at the masterfully bent headers with4-inch collectors and the polished 6-71 blower and told Prather, "Itlooks like my dyno-room at the shop."

Daring to be different, Ken invested four years in metal bending, framebuilding, and custom fabrication, and the result is a hot rod pushingahead of the cultural curve. But what about the paint? "I'm having toomuch fun just the way it is. You know, if a part starts looking ratty, Ijust re-primer it."